Hydraulic clutch.



E'. DE COLIGNY.

HYDRAULIC ULUTOH.

nrmouxon rILsn una, 1909.

Patented sptb 7, 1909.

fwelll' M de @029/341 striuction,

' leftout.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK DE COLIGNY, 0F CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO COLIGNY HYDRAULIC TRANS- MISSION CO., A CORPORATION 0F MICHIGAN.

HYDRAULIC CLUTCH.

,Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 7, 1909.

Application filed April 3, 1909. Serial No. 488,756.

Myl invention -reates to improvement in clutch-devices elf4 the. type wherein ,angular movement of one rotary member relative to another is controlled through the medium of a -body of .practically incompressible uid confined between the members, and wherein the relative speed of rotation of-one member 1y is de ndent. upon the degree of sli of the said' nid past, a valve a justablevv Vom the.Y outside of the device.

My object is to providea hydraulic. clutch, of the class' desonbed, Vof arr improved conrendering it artlcularly simple, l strong, durableand noise ess, and well adaptedV foritsfpurpose. l

lIn 'the accompanying drawings, wherein .I show my improvements applied to ,a variable s eed'A 4p'ower-transmitter,--Figure' 1 is an e ovation lof the device with one side of the casing removed,v Vthe view being in `the nature of .a section on line 1 mFilg. 2 5 Fig. 2, a broken section on theirregu ar 11ne22 in V Ii'lig.l1;`1`;ig.3a broken section takenj on line BjnrEig. 1,; and Fig. 4, a brokenfragxnervv ta sectional view, the section Abeing taken on ine A in 2, with the operating lever 5 is ,one side of a hollow casing, or-mlley, havin an-annularrixn-portion 6 an xed at its, ub upon a shaft Z.' Journaled at one vend in,a.bearing-cup 8 in the hub of the casin `is a shaft 9 in, erfect alinement 'with A .the s aft 7. .lemova 1y secured to the rim .f6 is a. side lhaving `e. hub 11 ittirloosell-y ,around the shaft 9 Vand prdvided wi Aan o' conniugstuing-box 12. Let into and securedto thesides 5,10, just within the.rim .6,isa partition 13 describa a nearly com,- lotey circle conoentrlieawit -the shaft 9. nnedvbctween the inner surface ofthe 4side 103ml the bearing 8 is the hub 14 of a l wheelihavu acenterl anda rim 145. The 80 'hub14.s eathered -u n the shaft. The

the chamber-18.

opposite oints,. extendin rim 16 of the wheel s ideaat opposite sides practically oil-tight against annular bearingsurfaces 17 formed on the sides 5, 10. The rim 6 is cut away at its inner side to form a chamber A18 communicating at opposite ends with an annular channel 19 surrounding the wall or partition 13. At` the chamber 18 the said wall or partition is cut .away to present the concave end-surfaces 20, 21.

22 is e swinging abutment forming a valve, mounted on a in-or rock-shaft 23 and hav-- Iing convex en s sliding practically oil-tight against the concave bearing surfaces 20, 21. At the center of the abutment-valve 22 is a narrow cam-projection 24 forming a contact surface, and the partition 13 is cut away, as indicated by the dotted lines 25, to form a socket intowhih the said cam-projection may move in the swinging of the abutmentvalve. The inner surface' 26 of the.valve describes an arc of practically the same circle as the ,inner bearin -surface 27 of the annularv ertition 13. he outer surface of the whee -rm 16 and the surface 27 form between them an annular-space 28. A spring 29in the chamber 18 engaes the swingingr valve 22 and tends norma ly to open the said valve by swin ing it in the direction of T e valve 22 is fixed to the pin 23 which passes through a. smiling-box 30, in the side 10 beyond which it carries n crank-arm 31. -VThe crank-arm is connected a cable 32 with an ear 33 on a sliding b sli'eeve 34'sur1'ounding and feathered upon the hub'11.

35 Aisa-n o' erating lever fulcrurned be-` tween its en s to a `staticuxary support 36 and pvotally secured at one end to a segmental stirruplblock 37 loosely ,engaging l an annular roove 38. in the slidinasleeve 34. The cale passes under a pu ley 39 on the side 10. Movement of the operat- `ix'xg-lever 35 to the right in Fig. 2 slides the sleeves 34 in the outward direction, drawing Vupon the cable 32 and swinging the arm 3l inward, thereb moving the valve 22 against resistance of t e spring 29 inthe direction lof the rim 156 to close across the'space 28.

AIn the circumferential portion of the innerV wheel are recesses l40, 40, at -diametricelly through the rim 16 into t e web, or whee center, 15 and in.

Aswung by means of the cave bearinU-surfaces 42, 43 at opposite ends,

open coiiininnication with the space oi' chiim- :is indicateda in Fig. 1. In each said rccess or pocket is a swinging abutment 44 having a convex end 45 ittin the concave socket 42, in which it is pivote and a convex abutment or presser face 4v sliding oil-tight lthe against the concave face 43. Each abutment 44 is of a width corresponding' with the distance between the op osite bearing-surfaces 17 against which it sides in approximately oil-tight contact. In each pocket 40 is -a spring 47 bearing against the under side of the abutment and tending to swing and close the latter against the surface 27. Each abutment has a central forward-extending cam-projection 48 which, in the swinging of-the abutment, moves into and out of a pocket-extension 49 in the wheel-rim 16. Also in each pocket is a cushioning-buffer. 50, preferably of a resilient type, against which, the abutment strikes when opened wide, as indicated toward the' to of Fig. 1. Formed in the inner face 27 of 't e partition 13 is a recess or channel 51v extending from the end 20 to the point indicated by 52 in Fig. 1. In ractice, the chamber 4l, surrounded by t e wheel-rim 16, and the annular space 28 are nearly lilled with an incompressible liquid such as a suitable oil. The recesses or pocliets 40 afford communication between opposite sides of the web 15, and in the bearing-surfaces 1f? just back of the abutment-valve 22 are recesses 52L forniing open communication between the chamber 41 and space 28. Normally the abutinents 44 are swung on their pivots, at 4f),A by the springs 47 to close oil-tight across the space 28 a einst the annular bearing-surface 27, an the'abutmeiit-valve 22 maybe lever 35, as describe to close oil-ti ht across said space against the surface of tghe rim 16.

In the construction illustrated, the shaft 7, with the casin and parts carried thereby, may constitute ta driving, or active, member of the'power-transmitter, and the shaft 9, with the parte carried thereby, may constitute the driven, or reactive, member, though it will be readily apparent that this order may be reversed. In operation, whenL the abutment-valve 22 is opened by the spring 29.130 cause its inner surface to coineide with the surface '27, the turning of the said active member willpresent no obstruction to theoil and the said reactive membery will remain unmoved. If the long arm of the lever is' swung to the extreme right, in Fg.2, the abutment-valve`22 is swung at its forward end against the rim 16 to close practically oil-tight across the space 28 whereby the turning of the said active member in the direction of the arrow 54 causes it to bear on their pivots.

against the bod of oil confined between it and the extends or closed abutment 44 carried by the react-ive member. This would cause the active member to rotate the reactive member at a rate of s eed equal to that 7o of the Iactive member. e adjustment of the swinging abutment-valve 22 away from the surface of the rim 16 o ens a passa e in (spaee 28 through which theco ned liqui may slip, at a rate governed by the size of the open passa e, thereby -propor tionatel reducing or re ieving the pressure upon e body of liquid, and causing a prol ortionate relative reduction of the speed of t ie reactive member. The convoi; swinging ends of the abutments and abutmentvalve describe arcs of circles, drawn from the pivots of those parts, and they slide practically oil-tight against the convex bearing-surfaces 43, 20, .hough the said ends are sliffhtly convex, they yform vabrupt presser-laces, extendin at right angles to their direction of trav, whereby the puessure of the liquid against them in the space the abutmeiits 28, has no tendency to swing he swinging abutmentvalve and abutments, constructed as shown and described, are preferable to the radiall movable venes usually providedin devies of this character, for the reason that the confined body oil, particularly when there is no slip, is subjected to great pressure Y and wlien'abutments in the forni of radiallymovable venes are employed the binding pressure against them is so great as to render movement thereof dfcult and wearing upon the adjusting .mechanism One of my principal objects is 'to avoid, as far as possible, impact between moving arts, so as tocause them to move noiseessly and without `ar or vibrations. This I effect by causing t e abutinents as the approach theabutment-valve to be opene altogether bythe pressure of the liquid. W'heii an abutment in moving, guratively speak 1 lo in toward the valve, passes the forward en V52 of the channel 51, the liquid inthe latter exerts centripetal pressure against the outer face of the abutment and swings it quickly, to open position, against there iii sistance of its spring 47, causing the outer surface of the abutment to extend in the arcv of the outer. surface of the rim 16, as indicated in the upper part of Fig. 1. The camprojections 24, 48 are safety ineens, pro- 12o vided, as a recautienary measure, to revent impact etwcen the presser-faces o the valve and an abutment, under any circumstances. The resilient buffers 50 coupled with the .resistance of the springs 47 tend to 125 render the openin movements of thep'abutments -noiseless. inmediately that an abut-- ment passes the forward end of the channel 51 and closes, the pressure of the partlyclosed valve is exerted through the body of 130 l changed as desired. he

\ abru t presser-.face carried by one o .the

liquid against the next abutment. As there is ractically no pressure against the liquid beliind the valve 22, as soon as an abutment passes the valve the centripet l pressure against it is relieved and it 1s ree to open under the resilient action of its spring 47.

The only possible leakage of liquid from the device would be throu h the stuliinb boxes 12, 30, and it is a simp e matter, in the construction shown,to prevent material leale. age. Reduction in the amount of liquid in the device will not aifect its operation 'so long as there is sulicient liquid to maintain the space 28 filled. The channel 52 affords a means whereby liquid issupp'lied from the central chamber 4:1 to the space 28 bycentrifugal force. Behind the valve 22 is an opemng 53 between the' channel 19 and s ace 28, which prevents oil from being'con ed against movement in the chamber 18 and thereby interfering with the opening of the valve 22,

The construction dispenses with valves other than the adjustable abutment-valve; and b meansof the adiusting. mechanism descri ed the degree of s ip of the confined body of liquid, and consequently the powertransmission, lmay be uic lly and accurately ever 35 maybe operated manually, or from a s eedgov ernor, in 'any desired manner; an the construction may be easily arranged to cause what I have termed the driving, or active,"

memberto be the driven, or reactive, member, or vice versa. Y

My improvements may be readily em ployed as a hydrauliobrake by causing the reactive member to be a stationar' part of the device; and the construction s own `and described may be variously modied, in the matter of details, orto adapt it for a particular purpose, without departing from the s irit of vmy invention as defined by the c aims v at I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. In a device of the character described, the combination of active and reactive mem-l bers forming between thenrsalr'fmnuliar liquid-holding space, an abutment can'ied by one of the members and closing normally across saidspace, an abutment forming a valve carried b the other member and adjustable from t e outside to va ing extents of closure across said space, an means for causing the liquid-pressure in said space 17o` produce opening movement of one of said abutments as it ap roaches the other.

2.v In a device o the character described, the combination of active and reactive members forming between them an annular liquid-holding space, an abutment havin an across said mein s and closing normali space, an abutment having an a rupt presserface forming a valve carried by the other member and adjustable from the outsideI to varying extents oi' closure across said sparc, and means for causing the liquid-pressure in said space to produce opening movement of one of said abutmeuts as it approaches` the other.

3.Y In a device of the character described, the combination of active and reactive members forming between them an annular liquid-holding s ace, a swinging abutment carrindl by one o the members and closing normally across said space, an abutment forming a valve carried y the other member and adjustable across said space, and means forcausing the liquid-pressure in said space to.- produce opening movement of one of said abutments as it ap roaches the other.

4. In a device o? the character described,

the combination of active and reactive meml bers forming betweenthem an annular liquid-holding space, a plurality of abut-ments carried by one of the members and closing normally across said space, an abutment :termin a valve carried by the other member and adjustable from the outside to varying extents of closure across said space, and means for'causing the liquid-pressure in said spaceA tov produce opening movement of one o 5. .In a device of the c aracter described, the combination of active andreactive members forming between them an annular liquid-holding spa a plurali. of swin 'ng abutments carrie by one; o the mem and closing normally across said space, an abutment-val've'carried by the 'other' member and adj ustuble from the outsidetovarying extents of closure across said space, and means for causing the liquidpressure in said space to produce opening movement ofsaid swing`Y ing abtments, as. they approach the abutment-valve.

6 In a device of the character described, the combination of active and reactive mem- -bers forming between them an annular lliquid-holdingl space, a plurality of swing -extents of closure across said space, means for causing thefliquidlpressure in said spare to produce opening movement of said swinzing abutments as they approach .the abnl `ment-valve, and means for cushioning the swinging abutments in therqopenng move? ment,

7.,In `a'device of'the character described,

`tile combination 'of active and reactive mem-l i bers forming' between them an amullar. liquid-holding' space, an abutment carried by one .of -`the members and closing normally said abutments as it ap roaches the other.

rlll

across said" space, an abutment forming a valve carried by the other member and ad- ":justable across said space,

.across said space,

a spring tending to move the valve in one direction, means for adjusting the valve from the outside to va ing positions against the resistance of sald spring, and means for causin the liquidpressure in said space to pro uce opening movement of one of said abutments as it approaches the other.

.` In a device of the character described,

the combination of active and reactive mem-4 bers forming between them an annular liquid-holding space, an abutment carried by one of lthe members and closing normally across said s ace, an abutment forming a valvecarried Iy the other member, a spring tending norma l to open said valve, means yfor adjusting said valve from the outside to va ing extents of closure across said space, gulliy means for causing the liquid-pressure 'n said space to roduce opening movement f fine of said a utments as it approaches the other.

9. In a device of the character described,

the combination of actlve and reactive members forming between them an annular liqquid-holding space, one of the members and closing normally an abutment .forming a valve carried b the other member and adjustable from t e outside to varyin extents of closure across said sp'ace, liqui -supplying means for 4said space communicating therewith behind said valve,` and means for causing the liquid-pressure 1n said space to produce opening movement of one of. said abutments as it approaches the other.

10. In a device of the character described, the combination of active and reactive members forming between them an annular liquid-holding space, a` plurality of abutments, carried by one of the members and closing normally across said space, an abutmentvalve carried b the other member and adjustable from t e outside to varying extents of closure across said space, liquid-supplying means for said space communicatin therefor producing opening movement of .the

abutments as they approach but before theyV reach the abutment-valve.

Q1 1. In a device of the character described, the combination of active and reactive members forming between them an annular liq-` uid-holding space, an abutment carried by one of the members formed with an abrupt presser-face closin normally across said s ace, an abutment orming a valve carried by t. e other member having an abrupt presserface and adjustable from the outside to varying extents of closure across said space, means for causing the liquid-pressure in said space to produce opening movement of one of said abutments as it approaches the other, and meaiis carried by t e nbutments themselves for preventing im'pact between the an abutment carried by escasa presser-surfaces of the abutments, circumstanc 12. In a evice of the character described, the combination of active and reactive members formi g between them an annular liquid-holding space, a swin ing abutment pivoted at one end to one oi the members and formed at itsI opposite swinging end with an abrupt presser-face at which it closes no1'- mally across said space, an abutment-valve carried by the other member and adjustable from the outside to varying extents of closure, across said space, means for causing the liquid-pressure vin said s ace to produce opening movement of the a utment as it appreaches the valve, and means for preventmg impact between the presser-face of the abutment and valve, under any circumstances, comprising mutually-en ageable abutInent-deecting contacts carrier? by the said abutment and valve.

13. In a device of the character described, the combination of active and reactive members forming between them an annular liquid-holdin space, a plurality of swinging abutments aving abru t presser-faces carried by one of the mem rs and closing normally across said space, a swinging abutment-valve carried by the other member having an abrupt presser-face and adjustable from the eutsidegg varying extents of closure across said spa means for causing the liquid-pressure in said space to produce opening movement of sa id abutments as they approach but before the reach the abutment-valve, an means or preventing impact between the presse surfaces of the abutments and abutment valve, under any circumstances.

14. In a device of the character described, the combination of active and reactive members forming between them an annular liquid-holdin abutments aving abrupt presser-faces carried byone of the members and closingmormally across said space, a swinging abutment-valve carried by the other member havin an abrupt presser-face and adjustable rom the outside to varying extents of closure across said space, means .for causing the liquid-pressure in said space to`, produce opening movement of said abutments as they approach, but before they reach, the abutment-valve, and means for prevent-in impact between' the presser-surfaces o the abutments and abutment-valve, underaany circumstances, comprising mutually-engageable cam-projections on said presser-faces.

15. In a device of the character described, the combination of active and reactive members forming between them an' annular liquid-holding space, an abutment carried by one of the members and closing normally across said space, a swinging abutment-valve carried by the other member, means for movunder any space, a plurality of swinging and meant; for adjusting the abuuuenbvulve erating lever and a cable connected at one und with Said crank und operatively connect/ed ut its; op )osito end with said lever. ,FRANK DE CULIGNY. n Hw, presence of J'. G. ANDERSON, R.. A. RAYMOND.

'mg said abutment out of the path of the nhutnmnt valve, as it approaches said valve,

to vsn-jing exmnis of ulnsure acrosa., Said space, comprising a 10ck-shu ft on which Said Avalve is mounten] xtendng tu the outside of tha devine, a crank on thu mmh-Shaft., am 0p- 

